inactive

[in-ak-tiv]

adjective

1. not active.

   an inactive volcano.

   Synonyms: inoperative, immobile, unmoving
   Antonyms: lively

2. sedentary or passive.

   an inactive life.

   Antonyms: lively

3. sluggish; indolent.

   Synonyms: slothful, idle, lazy
   Antonyms: lively

4. Military.,  not on active duty.

5. Chemistry.

   1. inert; unreactive.

   2. noting a compound that has no effect on polarized light.

inactive

/ ɪnˈæktɪv /

adjective

1. idle or inert; not active

2. sluggish, passive, or indolent

3. military of or relating to persons or equipment not in active service

4. chem (of a substance) having little or no reactivity

5. (of an element, isotope, etc) having little or no radioactivity

Other Word Forms

• inactivity noun
• inactively adverb
• inactiveness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of inactive¹

First recorded in 1715–25; in- ³ + active

Synonym Study

Inactive, dormant, inert, sluggish, torpid suggest lack of activity. Inactive indicates absence of action, indisposition to activity, or cessation of activity: an inactive compound, life, file of papers. Dormant suggests the quiescence or inactivity of that which sleeps but may be roused to action: a dormant volcano. Inert suggests the condition of dead matter, with no inherent power of motion or action; it may also mean unable to move, or heavy and hard to move: an inert mass; inert from hunger. Sluggish expresses slowness of natural activity or of that which does not move readily or vigorously: a sluggish stream, brain. Torpid suggests a state of suspended physical powers, a condition particularly of animals that hibernate: Snakes are torpid in cold weather.

Example Sentences

Its true identity is still uncertain: it could be a dense clump of dark matter, roughly 100 times smaller than any previously detected, or possibly an extremely compact, inactive dwarf galaxy.

Read more on Science Daily

There was no timetable given for when Woods might return to competitive golf after the latest in a series of operations and injuries that have kept him inactive since last year's British Open.

Read more on Barron's

Several other starters were banged up and inactive for the Chiefs game.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Captured by Russian forces early in the war, the facility no longer supplies power to the grid but still needs electricity to cool its six inactive reactors and spent fuel.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The official CDC list of conditions that could justify getting the vaccine is also extensive, including risk factors like being overweight, physically inactive or having ever smoked.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dormant 
• dull 
• idle 
• immobile 
• inoperative 
• jobless 
• passive 
• sedentary 
• sluggish 
• static 
• unemployed 
• unused